“Keep the Change” was created to encourage community members to “pay it forward” and support additional groups and organizations, by simply filling an empty Allegheny Insurance water bottle with money. Each bottle holds 1,000 dimes which equates to a $100 donation to the charity of your choice, however any amount is always appreciated.
We spoke with one of Tucker County Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ (FCA) advisors, Shane Eakle, about his experience with the “Keep the Change” program. As a science teacher and athletic coach, Eakle shares his thoughts on the program:
- Do you think fundraising is difficult? If so, why? Yes, it’s very difficult in Tucker County – we have a small population base and we don’t have a levy. Every sports team has to fund their own program since it cannot be funded by the county. For every organization, whether it’s a club, like FCA, or a sports team, people donate – and donors are limited at times. Also, everything is funded through grants and thankfully we’ve been fortunate enough to get some great ones in the past.
- What do you fundraise for? The FCA is an active club – we do a lot of outreach within the community, including Operation Christmas Child, Dress an Angel Tucker County Style, Scholarship Awards and Food Pantry Stocking. To raise money, we typically sell water at schools and different events. In addition, we have a corn hole tournament and take half that money and have a giveaway with gift cards while the other half goes to a family fighting cancer or directly to the Davis Cancer Center.
- How long did it take you to save dimes and fill bottles? 7 months
- How did your group actually execute the program? People would send in donations and kids would empty their pockets at basketball and baseball games to try and help. We tried to get the word out, and the students did a lot of the legwork– every week students brought in dimes.
- What will these recently raised funds go toward? We dish out money as needed and the students vote on where it’s donated with 100% of the funds are used in Tucker County. A lot of service projects are funded by this program in addition to supporting our scholarship awards for 2018.
- Will you do it again? Yes, we will. Absolutely!
Are you looking for a new fundraising opportunity for your organization? If so, we encourage you to take a moment and learn more about the “Keep the Change” program and see for yourself just how easy it can be!
